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To: MikeM54321 who wrote (5567)	10/17/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: MikeM54321	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

Re: Forced Access in Virginia - Cox Walks Away "Cox said in a statement that the ruling ``is poor public policy and violates Virginia and federal law.' The company said it would discontinue the deployment of high-speed Internet services in Fairfax City until the council rescinds the decision or the courts invalidate it." Thread, Well the above is is exactly why I believe it's not good to expect the cablecos to risk billions of $$, and then open up their expensive network to competitors. In this case, Cox has walked away. Real good for the consumer, right? MikeM(From Florida) _________________________ Cox Communications Told to Open Network to Internet Providers in Virginia By Heather Fleming Phillips Cox Required to Open Internet Access in Virginia Fairfax City, Virginia, Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Cox Communications Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. cable-television company, will be required to let Internet service providers lease its high-speed connections in Fairfax City, Virginia. The Fairfax City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to impose an open access requirement on Cox as a requisite for approving its $1.4 billion cash purchase of Media General Inc.'s cable systems. ``By taking this action and supporting open access, we have ensured that our citizens will continue to have the freedom to choose their Internet provider,' said Scott Silverthorne, councilman for Fairfax City. Fairfax City's decision followed other communities that have imposed an access requirement on a cable transfer. America Online Inc., the largest Internet service provider, is leading the fight as it seeks to offer its customers high-speed access. Cable companies argue that such a requirement discourages investment to upgrade networks to handle high-speed data. Cox said in a statement that the ruling ``is poor public policy and violates Virginia and federal law.' The company said it would discontinue the deployment of high-speed Internet services in Fairfax City until the council rescinds the decision or the courts invalidate it. The decision ``underscores why 30,000 local franchising authorities across the U.S. should not be making scatter-shot decisions about national telecommunications olicy,' the National Cable Television Association said. Authorities in Portland, Oregon, and Broward County, Florida, earlier this year voted to impose similar requirements on AT&T Corp., which will be the largest cable TV company when it completes its $50.5 billion purchase of MediaOne Group Inc. AT&T is challenging both of those decisions in court. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has refrained from imposing an open access requirement on cable companies. FCC Chairman William Kennard has argued that the fledgling high-speed Internet market should be given a chance to work the issue out on its own. He's opposed to local governments imposing the requirement, arguing that a patchwork-quilt of local regulations would create ``chaos' in the industry. The FCC filed a friend of the court brief in the Portland lawsuit in opposition to the local rule.